I am SICK

Just when I thought Istanbul and I had come to an agreement - that I was going to enjoy my time here and that the city was going to take it easy on me - NOPE. That didn't happen.

Instead, I got back to the hostel after a good afternoon, laid down, but couldn't sleep. In the middle of the night I woke Whitters up because I could not stop violently vomiting in our bathroom.

Before you ask, I did not eat the raw lamb.

I don't know WHAT did this to me, but it has been awful. Whitters and Ben braved a pharmacy where he apparently pantomimed throwing up and repeatedly said "Vo-meeet! Vo-meeet!" They got me green pills, which stopped the vomiting, but I still could not sit up without feeling horrible. I spent two days in my not-so-comfortable bed, and when my tummy started feeling better, my head started feeling worse. I felt so bad I couldn't read or work until this afternoon.

The bright side of things:
As my friend Phil put it, at least now I can tell people I have vomited on two different continents. He also urged me to try to get over to the Asian side of Istanbul while I was still feeling bad to up that number to 3. I stayed put.

All I had to eat for two days was orange juice and mint tea from Starbucks. I am thankful for globalization as a sick American. Judge me if you wanna. So I might be a little thinner when I get back.

For dinner tonight, when the last thing I wanted to see or eat was lamb, bread, rice or yogurt, Ben and Whitters took a horribly long cab ride with me to go to... Pizza Hut. Melty cheese has never tasted so good. Let's just see if I can keep it down.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Hopefully I will be feeling better then, and Whitters and I are going to the Istanbul Modern Museum of Art, and I don't know what else. If it sucks, I'm calling for a redo in the states.

Miss you all terribly. Seriously.